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RELS 204 Athabasca University > Islam Key Terms > Flashcards

Islam Key Terms Flashcards

(62 cards)

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1
Q

Abbasids

A

classical Muslim dynasty, ruling at Baghdad, 8th to 13th centuries C.E.

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2
Q

Abu Bakr

A

companion of the Prophet Muhammad and first caliph (d. 634)

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3
Q

Al-Ghazali

A

great thinker (1058-1111 C.E.) who synthesized orthodox Islamic thought and Sufism

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4
Q

‘Ali

A

nephew and son in law of the Prophet Muhammad and the fourth caliph (d.661);
considered by Shi’ites to be the first imam or successor to Muhammad

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5
Q

Allah

A

“the God”; Quranic designation for the one God

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6
Q

Caliph

A

“deputy”, also “successor” to the Prophet Muhammad as leader of Islam

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7
Q

Dar al-Harb

A

see Dar al-Islam

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8
Q

Dar al-Islam

A

“abode of islam”; territories of the ummah under Muslim control, whereas the rest
of the world is the Dar al-Harb, “abode of warfare”

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9
Q

Da’wah

A

missionary activities directed toward spreading Islam

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10
Q

Dhikr

A

“remembrance”; spiritual exercises in Sufism focusing the consciousness on God

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11
Q

Five Pillars

A

required Muslim rituals of serving God: Shahadah (confession), Salat (prayer), Zakat (alms-giving), Sawm (fasting), and Hajj (pilgrimage).

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12
Q

Hadith

A

a saving or tradition of the Prophet Muhammad transmitted through a trustworthy chain
of reporters; the collection of hadiths

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13
Q

Hagar

A

wife of Abraham, mother of Ishmael, and ancestress of the Muslims

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14
Q

Hajj

A

annual pilgrimage to Mecca

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15
Q

Haram

A

forbidden, such as certain actions or food

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16
Q

Hidden imam

A

in Shi’ism, the last Imam (successor to Muhammad) who disappeared into a state
of occultation and will return in the future.

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17
Q

Hijra

A

emigration of the Prophet Muhammad and his followers from Mecca to Medina in 622 C.E.

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18
Q

Husayn

A

son of ‘Ali, killed at Karbalah (680); considered by Shi’ites as an Imam m(successor to
the Prophet Muhammed) and a great martyr

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19
Q

‘Id

A

“feast” or festival in Islam; the two major festivals are ‘Id al-adha (feast of sacrifice) during the Hajj month and ‘Id al-fitr (feast of breaking the Ramadan Fast)

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20
Q

Ihram

A

state of ritual purity and consecration appropriate for entering the sacred precincts of Mecca on the Hajj (Islamic pilgrimage)

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21
Q

Ijma

A

“consensus”; for formulating Muslim law, consensus among the legal scholars is necessary

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22
Q

Ijihad

A

independent legal reasoning in Islam; one who does this is a mujtahid

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23
Q

Imam

A

Islamic scholar and leader, especially in ritual prayer; for Shi’ites, the proper successors to
the prophet are called Imams

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24
Q

Ishmael

A

son of Abraham and Hagar, ancestor of the Muslims

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25
Isnad
the chain of transmitters for a particular hadith in Islam
26
Jihad
“striving’ for religious perfection and for God’s cause including bearing arms in defense of Islam if necessary
27
Judgement day
the day on which God will judge all according to their deeds
28
Ka’bah
: the cube-shaped stone shrine in the Great Mosque at Mecca, focal point of prayer and pilgrimage for Muslims
29
Kafir
an unbeliever, in Islamic terms
30
Khadija
the first wife (d.619) of the Prophet Muhammad
31
Khaijites
“seceders”; strict moralistic sect of early Muslims
32
Mihrab
niche in the mosque wall indicating the direction to Mecca
33
Minbar
pulpit from which the sermon is given during the Friday prayer in the Islamic mosque
34
Mosque (masjid)
place of communal worship in Islam
35
Muezzin (muadhdhin)
person who calls the people to ritual prayer, chanting out the call from atop a minaret or mosque roof
36
Mughal
muslim dynasty established by the Mongols in India
37
Mulla
Persian word for learned Muslim teacher and expounder of the law
38
Muslim
one who has surrendered to God in accepting the authority of the Quran
39
Mu’tazilities
school in the classical period of Islam that accepted reason as a primary criterion for establishing beliefs
40
Ottoman
caliphate ruling much of the Muslim world from Istanbul from the 16th to the 20th centuries C.E.
41
Prophets
messengers through whom God has given revelation to all peoples, culminating with Muhammad as the Seal of the Prophets
42
Qiyas
“analogy” in legal argumentation and decision making in Islam
43
Quran
“recitation”, primarily the revelation sent down by God upon the Prophet Muhammad; the Holy Book
44
Ramadan
sacred month in which Muslims perform the Fast
45
Safavid
Muslim dynasty in Iran beginning in the 16th century, featuring rule by the shahs
46
Salat
required Muslim ritual of prayer five times daily
47
Sawm
required Muslim fasting during the month of Ramadan
48
Shahadah
the Muslim formula bearing witness to the unity of God: “I testify that there is no God but God; I testify that Muhammad is the messenger of God”
49
Shari’ah
Islamic law, based on the Quran and on the sunnah of the Prophet
50
Shi’ites
the “fraction” of ‘Ali that believes that ‘Ali and his descendants are the proper successors of the Prophet Muhammad; today, one of the two main divisions in Islam, representing about one-sixth of the world’s Muslims
51
Shirk
“association”; Muslim term for the great sin of idolatry or associating something else with God
52
Sufi
one who follows the mystical path of Islam
53
Sunnah
“custom” or “way of acting”, primarily of the Prophet Muhammad; the Prophets sunnah is known through the hdiths
54
Sunnites
term for the Muslim majority, those who acknowledge the first four caliphs and the interpretation of the Quran and the prophet’s sunnah by the orthodox ‘ulama (religious scholars)
55
Tawhid
Muslim term for maintaining the unity of God
56
Twelvers
the largest group within the Muslim Shi’ites, those who hold there have been twelve Imams; also called the Imamis
57
Ulama
the class of learned Muslim legal scholars who study and apply the religious sciences
58
Umar
the second caliph in Islamic history (d.644)
59
Umayyad
dynasty ruling Islam from Damascus from 661 to 750 C.E.
60
Ummah
a community having a common religion; especially the Muslim community
61
Uthman
the third caliph in Islamic history (d. 656)
62
Iman
‘faith’, complete certitude about the truth of Islam.

RELS 204 Athabasca University (13 decks)

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